# Straight Pipes vs. Bent Pipes...Which One and Why?



## mmiller

I am starting to get more into pipe smoking and would like to know the pros and cons of both and why you prefer the one that you do.


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## Nick S.

I have 8 pipes that have a 1/4 bend or more, and 23 pipes that have a 1/8th or less (I consider 1/8th bent pipes like the Zulu shape to be straight). I will say that it is much harder the get a badly drilled straight pipe than a badly drilled bent... I mostly buy the straight just because I like them... of all my bent pipes, there are only 2 that I smoke regularly, the rest of my regular smokers are straights... I think most of the reasons people prefer straight or bent are simply esthetics, but there are a few functional reasons as well. If you prefer to clench your pipe, and like to read, work on the computer, watch tv... than a bent pipe would probably be better, but if you like to hold your pipe than a straight pipe is fine.


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## The Mad Professor

mmiller said:


> I am starting to get more into pipe smoking and would like to know the pros and cons of both and why you prefer the one that you do.


Greetings Matt, welcome to Puff! I prefer bent pipes to straight, mostly like Nick said, because of aesthetics. I have more straight pipes than bent though, if you include cobs. I like my cobs straight, mostly for aesthetics too. One of my bent pipes has moisture issues and so I smoke my drier blends out of that one. It's a full bent pipe. My other bent pipe is a small half bent that smokes just great, but the bowl is awfully small. Good for the strong stuff!

My straight pipes are quite good smokers too, and I really do love my Falcon. I smoke it almost daily, and it has become my go-to pipe for my walks to the University. The big bowl packs plenty for my stroll, and the straight shank/stem is nice for clenching AND tipping my hat to the lovely ladies.


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## MarkC

I didn't vote, as I like both. One thing about bent pipes is less stress on your teeth if you clench, plus you can see into the chamber better while lighting. But I wouldn't give up either style.


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## Hermit

MarkC said:


> I didn't vote, as I like both. One thing about bent pipes is less stress on your teeth if you clench, plus you can see into the chamber better while lighting. But I wouldn't give up either style.


I couldn't vote either.
My collection is prolly 50/50 
and I don't have a preference. 
(not a clencher.)


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## Nick S.

I will say I think the bent will probably come out as the more popular shape... That's just my guess anyway...


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## Andrewdk

Personally I prefer straight, some bents can be tricky to get a pipe cleaner through or so I hear. However my favourite is a quarter bent. I've also heard bent pipes can give a drier smoke as gravity helps keep moisture from creeping up the shank/stem.


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## freestoke

I voted for straight. I don't like full bents much, since for some mysterious reason the few full bents I've had smoked wet and didn't pass a pipe cleaner well. (I think my microcephalic head doesn't look quite right with a full bent, either.) I have a couple of half bents that smoke pretty well, plus a smallish, full bent Szabo that's a decent smoker. There's also the gigantic Tim West that is unclenchable regardless of the full bent. I seem to like quarter and eighth bents (if you can call an eighth bent a bent pipe at all), I guess for aesthetic reasons. I'm not sure a quarter bent is enough to help with clenching, but maybe. I have only four briars that I smoke regularly that are actually straight (much to my surprise -- I never noticed!), 6 counting a prince and a Bari Dana with small bends in the stem. My Forever Stem is straight, though, and I have neither a General nor MacArthur. So I guess I have 6 bent and 12 straight, with two of the straights having slightly bent stems.

Just a question of my own here -- what's a Dublin/Zulu, a quarter/eighth *reverse* bent? (I don't have a Zulu. sigh.)


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## karatekyle

Nice to see you Matt! As you know, I love my straight pipes.


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## pffintuff

It's just a matter of preference. I like bent shapes. Being able to look down into the bowl while smoking is a plus for me.
I'd say it's a bit easier to get a pipe cleaner through a straight shape, but that's not a big concern for me.


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## Fuzzy

I voted for the bents for looks, but thinking about it and smoking them, I like both. There is just something about the big freehand bents that I find pleasing.


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## DanR

I tend to like the look and feel of a straight pipe better. In fact, the traditional straight billiard is probably my favorite shape. However, I have plenty of bent pipes that are regular smokers too.


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## Staxed

I'm not a big time pipe smoker, more into cigars, but I do have a few pipes laying around (maybe someday I'll try out a few more things...lol). I prefer a bent pipe though, mostly due to aesthetics, and I just like the way it holds in my mouth better than a straight.


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## Contrabass Bry

Personally, I prefer straight pipes for both aesthetics and for ease of cleaning. I'm generally not a "full time" clencher but I don't find my straights any less uncomfortable than my one full bent...

but then again, it is a 7.5oz meerschaum!

I like Nick S's point about the straights standing a better chance of a good drill, but as you move up the price-point ladder, that likely diminishes.

Smoke what you like, I say!

First post and a poll, no less! Well played, sir!


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## karatekyle

DanR said:


> I tend to like the look and feel of a straight pipe better. In fact, the traditional straight billiard is probably my favorite shape. However, I have plenty of bent pipes that are regular smokers too.


Agreed. Not many people seem interested in straight billiards anymore. I just love them to death. Straight billiard, lovat, or dublin; every pipe I love could fit into these categories.


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## gahdzila

My first pipe was a bent MM filter cob. Since the stems are interchangeable within the same "class", I've stuck with bent filters for my cobs (though I don't use filters in them). Aesthetic reasons only....and the convenience of being able to switch stems on them.

I found myself wanting a straight pipe, since I didn't have one, and picked up a Dr Grabow Big Pipe. It's a great pipe.

I think straight pipes are slightly easier to clean. I used to find bent pipes to look nicer, but I like both now, TBH. IDK....probably a slight preference for bent. I like the couple of straight pipes that I have, too....and I've been eyeing a few tankards lately :mrgreen:


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## mmiller

Thank you! I have been looking into the straight pipes now cuz i dont have one, btw how do you like the meerschaum? ive never met anybody who has smoked one


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## mmiller

gahdzila said:


> My first pipe was a bent MM filter cob. Since the stems are interchangeable within the same "class", I've stuck with bent filters for my cobs (though I don't use filters in them). Aesthetic reasons only....and the convenience of being able to switch stems on them.
> 
> I found myself wanting a straight pipe, since I didn't have one, and picked up a Dr Grabow Big Pipe. It's a great pipe.
> 
> I think straight pipes are slightly easier to clean. I used to find bent pipes to look nicer, but I like both now, TBH. IDK....probably a slight preference for bent. I like the couple of straight pipes that I have, too....and I've been eyeing a few tankards lately :mrgreen:


im in the same boat for wanting a straight just due to the fact i have never smoked/owned one


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## mmiller

karatekyle said:


> Nice to see you Matt! As you know, I love my straight pipes.


i know i have actually been looking into a new pipe and i am limiting myself to only looking at straight ones, who knows i could end up favoring them over bent ones


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## Nick S.

I will add that when I first started smoking pipes I did prefer the bent over the straight, but now it is the other way around... I guess I got a little tired of trying to finagle a pipe cleaner down the stem, but it is no problem with a straight. 

Jim - there are a few Zulu pipes for sale on ebay... I got a couple from there recently...


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## Commander Quan

I prefer bents to straights. I am a clencher, and do most of my smoking at the computer, so having the bowl a little lower keeps the smoke out of my eyes, I'll admit that it's annoying when you can't quite get a pipe cleaner threaded down the stem, but I prefer the way they hang. Interestingly, one of my top 3 favorite pipes is a straight pipe, and Brebbia Ninja 1001, which has a pretty big bowl, but the wide stem, paired with a softy help.


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## Nick S.

Commander Quan said:


> I prefer bents to straights. I am a clencher, and do most of my smoking at the computer, so having the bowl a little lower keeps the smoke out of my eyes, I'll admit that it's annoying when you can't quite get a pipe cleaner threaded down the stem, but I prefer the way they hang. Interestingly, one of my top 3 favorite pipes is a straight pipe, and Brebbia Ninja 1001, which has a pretty big bowl, but the wide stem, paired with a softy help.


Like I said before, I prefer straights to bent, but it is funny that I too have a pipe that opposite to my normal preferences. It is also the only pipe I have dedicated to a specific blend... It is a Stanwell Night and Day #232, I love the way it hangs and with a softy bit it is very comfortable. The only down side to it is having to work a pipe cleaner into it...


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## WWhermit

Especially for a beginner, you have less chance of gurgling with a straight pipe, and less chance of heat build up.

WWhermit
ipe:


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## Nachman

Easier to run a pipe cleaner through a straight pipe and less build up of spit like you get at the bottom of a deep bend.


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## GuitarDan

I often smoke while doing other things; and clench the pipe with my teeth. Three/quarter and full bent pipes don't obscure my field of vision, are less fatiguing, and my wife says they suit me better aesthetically. On the down side: inadvertently and inevitably I end up with soggy dottle as a result of spit finding it's way into the pipe.

The lone exception is a little bent Kirsten. By design it makes for a dry cool smoke no matter the blend or circumstance. Here's a link to the Kirsten company: F.K. Kirsten - Pipe Styles 
I'd use it more, but it's only a 1/4 bend or so, and annoyingly gets in my line of sight.

TTFN!


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## Stonedog

Straight for me, they just seem to smoke better. I agree with Daniel though, full bent pipes make better clenchers.


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## hxcmassacre

I like bent pipes. I don't clench or anything, they just feel better to me for some reason


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## mmiller

Nachman said:


> Easier to run a pipe cleaner through a straight pipe and less build up of spit like you get at the bottom of a deep bend.


i have noticed that cleaning can be challenging with a bent pipe, im am currently looking into straight pipes, any suggestions for a nice one under $100?


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## mmiller

Stonedog said:


> Straight for me, they just seem to smoke better. I agree with Daniel though, full bent pipes make better clenchers.


Thank you for your input, i plan on getting a straight next so i will have one of each and then i will build my collection from there.


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## tupacboy

bent... just feel more comfortable for me


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## Nachman

mmiller said:


> i have noticed that cleaning can be challenging with a bent pipe, im am currently looking into straight pipes, any suggestions for a nice one under $100?


Look at Nordings. I have had several and all have been superior smokers. Right now my best smoker is a Nording Walnut Rhodesian.


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## DanR

Nachman said:


> Look at Nordings. I have had several and all have been superior smokers. Right now my best smoker is a Nording Walnut Rhodesian.


My local B&M just hired a new guy (actually an older guy - retired already, but looking for something to fill his time) and this guy REALLY knows pipes. I was browsing the pipes, and we were talking and perusing the Dunhills, Castellos, and some other high end pipes when he said, "you want a really nice smoking pipe for much less money, come look at these Nordings!"

I didn't buy anything, but I'm thinking about going back and getting one now.


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## Zeabed

I have both straight and bent pipes. The bent pipes go from 1/4th bent to full bents. I prefer straight pipes, overall. My favorite shapes are the billiard, the canadian and the dublin. They tend to have less of a risk of gurgling and better internal engineering. That said, I have a Sasquatch Hungarian, a Pete POY 09 and a Comoy Golden Grain that are all bent and all excellent pipes, particularly the Sas.


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## freestoke

It seems to me that the shank has to be at an angle to the bowl to be a "bent". Just curving the stem doesn't make it a Cutty or an Oompaul, eg. And what is a Cutty, btw, -1/4 bent? I'm just wondering if anybody counts the Prince as a bent of some sort; I'd say a Prince is straight, but no doubt there are differing opinions.


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## Nick S.

freestoke said:


> It seems to me that the shank has to be at an angle to the bowl to be a "bent". Just curving the stem doesn't make it a Cutty or an Oompaul, eg. And what is a Cutty, btw, -1/4 bent? I'm just wondering if anybody counts the Prince as a bent of some sort; I'd say a Prince is straight, but no doubt there are differing opinions.


I think a Cutty is more of a 1/8th bend, I guess you could call it a negative bend to be more precise...


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## JamesBond007

I prefer the straight ones, they just seem to fit and balance right. They also seem easier to clean


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## freestoke

One of these days I'll be with the majority. :lol: We need a poll, "Do you like eating liver while smoking M79 in your brylon." I might agree with most of you guys on that poll -- but I'd be afraid to ask! What if everybody here likes both! :shock:


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## karatekyle

freestoke said:


> One of these days I'll be with the majority. :lol: We need a poll, "Do you like eating liver while smoking M79 in your brylon." I might agree with most of you guys on that poll -- but I'd be afraid to ask! What if everybody here likes both! :shock:


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## freestoke

:rofl: :biglaugh:


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## Cairns

I own both, and I like them all.


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## chu2

karatekyle said:


> Agreed. Not many people seem interested in straight billiards anymore. I just love them to death. Straight billiard, lovat, or dublin; every pipe I love could fit into these categories.


I'll agree. I've got a really small collection, compared to some here, but two out of my three pipes are straight billiard-style pipes. One's a meer, and one's lined briar, so there's a little variety.

I don't really smoke my bent-stem pipe, mainly because the bowl is usually too big for the amount of time I have to smoke. Also, the stem has two small holes in the bit instead of one larger one, so getting a pipe cleaner through it is really a challenge/impossible.


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## freestoke

All my "favorite" pipes are straight, too, except for the Sasieni 4Dot diplomat and the Savinelli 120 Anni with eighth bends. The more I think about this, the more I think I really don't like bent pipes much (at least not bent much) -- except for maybe a Zulu; but that's bent the other way, so you could call one of those "over straightened".


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## Mycroft Holmes

freestoke said:


> All my "favorite" pipes are straight, too, except for the Sasieni 4Dot diplomat and the Savinelli 120 Anni with eighth bends. The more I think about this, the more I think I really don't like bent pipes much (at least not bent much) -- except for maybe a Zulu; but that's bent the other way, so you could call one of those "over straightened".


Oh, Jim...You're KILLIN ME!!  I'm such a huge fan of the bent pipe it's unreal. Perhaps my love of the bent pipe comes from my love of Holmes, but there is just something great about a bent pipe. However, I will admit, that they are not ideal for your golf game, and I know how important your golf game is to you. 

Good thread.


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## freestoke

Hey, you look GOOD in a bent! Especially that calabash! :tu My teensy little bald head doesn't. :lol:

There was a photo of one of the old guys, Harry Vardon era, finishing his swing with a pipe in his mouth, definitely a full bent. So it CAN be done! The only pro these days smoking a pipe that I know of is Darren Clarke, but he smokes cigars on the range/course, not his pipe. He says he gives away £40000 worth of cigars a year. :shock:


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## karatekyle

freestoke said:


> Hey, you look GOOD in a bent! Especially that calabash! :tu My teensy little bald head doesn't. :lol:
> 
> There was a photo of one of the old guys, Harry Vardon era, finishing his swing with a pipe in his mouth, definitely a full bent. So it CAN be done! The only pro these days smoking a pipe that I know of is Darren Clarke, but he smokes cigars on the range/course, not his pipe. He says he gives away £40000 worth of cigars a year. :shock:


I've heard that. Apparently his cigar bill is quite a sobering figure. Bald heads with full bent pipes do not seem to work as well as straights. There's another old codger out there who pulls the bald and straight look, he goes by the name of Marty Pulvers!


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## mmiller

I just picked up 4 straight pipes from some antique stores, we will see how I end up liking them 8)


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## karatekyle

mmiller said:


> I just picked up 4 straight pipes from some antique stores, we will see how I end up liking them 8)


Guess who has two thumbs and is in charge of restoring these suckers?










This guy.


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## mmiller

karatekyle said:


> Guess who has two thumbs and is in charge of restoring these suckers?
> 
> This guy.


Guess who offered??







Yep, you!


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## karatekyle

mmiller said:


> Guess who offered??
> View attachment 36070
> 
> Yep, you!


ound:


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## DanR

Hopefully you'll show us some before and after pics!!


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## mmiller

DanR said:


> Hopefully you'll show us some before and after pics!!


I was just thinking the same thing, me or kyle will post some :tu


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## The Mad Professor

karatekyle said:


> Not many people seem interested in straight billiards anymore. I just love them to death.


Kyle, you'll be happy to know I'm on a serious hunt for a smooth straight billard with a saddle stem - been checking eBay for days now. I have found I don't like the tapered stems on a straight billiard (or on much of anything for that matter), but saddle stems are way sexy! No lovats, though, I don't care for the overly long shanks. I like a 50/50 split between shank and stem, preferably with a little metal banding in between.

Something like this (not my fav but found it quick):


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## mmiller

For straight billiards with saddle stems i like the savinelli 114 shape. :tu


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## karatekyle

mmiller said:


> For straight billiards with saddle stems i like the savinelli 114 shape. :tu


Same here! Its more elegant than a lovat. I almost bought one on smokingpipes once.


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## mmiller

After smoking both straight and bent pipes I honestly love both of them, I guess I just am not a picky person. I love how they both look, there is only one pro of each that I like that the other doesnt. Bent pipes I see the tobacco easier when I am lighting it. Straight pipes if I get moisture in the bottom it is easier to get rid of it.


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## Leucrocotta

On the whole, I more readily enjoy the looks of the bents. However, there are a few of the straights that catch my eye, some even more so than a similar bent. Cannot really say about the functionality yet though. Maybe before too long I'll be able to.


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## mmiller

Leucrocotta said:


> On the whole, I more readily enjoy the looks of the bents. However, there are a few of the straights that catch my eye, some even more so than a similar bent. Cannot really say about the functionality yet though. Maybe before too long I'll be able to.


Read through this thread and you will get opinions on both for a start there are about equal opinions on both. The only way to truly know is to try one of each though! :tu


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## Leucrocotta

I have every intention of trying both. Just bought the one that pleased me most in my price range first, which was naturally a bent. Now to try a few baccys and to find a straight that I like. Making the trek to Nashville this coming weekend to pick up my little brother from the airport, plan to check a smoke shop up there (technically down there, but hey, why let geography get in the way of the local tongue?) while I'm at it. Keeping my fingers crossed for good luck and a good time.


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## FLIPFLOPS_AND_SHADES

Very tough question to answer. My first pipe was a Savinelli Dublin which is a bent. My second was a Savinelli "sitting" rusticated poker that I actually smoke the most. I like the fact that with straight pipes, if I'm in a hurry I can just push a pipe cleaner into through the stem without taking it apart right after finishing the smoke. I guess I would vote straights too because I am not a "clencher" and like to hold my pipes rather than letting them hang from my chin.


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## mmiller

Well brothers it is official, I am now on the side of straight pipes. I have 3 bent and 12 straight and I love them both but a prefer the look and functionality of the straight ones. My jaw is now strong so clenching straights isnt a problem, the one pro I like about bent is being able to see the tobacco.


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